Ready-To-Eat ("R-T-E") cereal manufacturers engage in wide varieties of activities designed to promote new, improved, or existing R-T-E cereal products. One common technique is to distribute a coupon redeemable at a food retailer in connection with the purchase of the manufacturer's product. Another technique is to increase the advertising of the product. While such promotion activities are helpful in promoting the sale of the manufacturer's product, consumers are even more inclined to purchase a product after the consumer has had an opportunity to actually sample the product.
A variety of techniques are used to provide actual samples of the food product to consumers for testing. One technique is to hand out samples of the product in retail stores where the product is typically purchased. Another technique is to mail free samples of the product to consumers. A third technique is to include inserts of the sample product in other products sold to the consumer. While these several techniques are useful and indeed are popular, there is a continuing need for new, useful and innovative techniques for distributing samples of food products to consumers to facilitate the consumers sample use of such food products.
In particular, it would be especially useful to tie the provision of a sample of a food product to be promoted with the purchase of a product typically used in connection with the food product being promoted. Thus, for example, for R-T-E cereal manufacturers, it would be desirable to tie a sample of an R-T-E cereal with the purchase of a container of milk since milk is typically used in association with the consumption of R-T-E cereals.
However, a number of problems are presented by such proposed association. For example, in the fabrication and use of conventional milk containers, such container designs are well established as are the systems for filling and distributing such packaged food items. Any design for a sample container must accommodate such designs and distribution systems. Such sample package designs must also accommodate the intermediate storage systems for such packages. In particular, for milk containers, such sample designs must not interfere with the conventional method of handling milk containers that involve the insertion of the packages into milk cases, especially the stackability of such cases.
Still another problem resides in the provision of a sampler package containing a sufficient amount of volume to hold about one oz. of sample R-T-E cereal having densities as low as 0.1 g/cc. Useful sample packages must have a product reservoir large enough to hold useful quantities of the cereal yet nonetheless not adversely affect the routine handling of the filled bottles.
Still another problem resides in fabricating articles suitable for ordinary usage by consumers. Frequently, the consumer will grip the combined article by the sample package to lift the article. If the sample package is inadequately secured to the bottle, the sample can become untimely separated from the bottle and the bottle may fall. On the other hand, the sample must be relatively easy to remove from the bottle when such removal is timely. The feature which removably secures the sample to the bottle thus must be strong yet removable and, of course, inexpensive.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a food product sample package of a new and useful design.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide new and useful food product package designs that are adapted to be removably secured to supporting packages.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide improved sample package designs that are useful in connection with conventional plastic containers for fluid foods such as milk, juice and water.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide carton designs that can be used in connection with supporting fluid containers that minimize handling problems in the conventional distribution and sale of such fluid products.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sample package that is resistant to dislocation from the supporting food package yet nonetheless can, when desired, be conveniently detached from the bottle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sample product package having removable engagement means that is simple and inexpensive to fabricate and assemble.
These and other objects of the present invention are described in the description of the preferred embodiments below.
The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention described in connection with the drawings.